What will Gingrich do tomorrow? - Christie to NR: 'I could win' - Pawlenty's clock at 45 days - Obama and Jeb team up - Bill Gardner ok with Minn. caucus - PPP: Kaine vs. Allen would be tied

THE 2012 SCORE – FOG OF NEWT: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s 2012 plans are shrouded in mystery again, after two of his senior-most aides offered clashing accounts of what Gingrich will do and say on a trip to Atlanta tomorrow. ABC News’s Jonathan Karl summed up the situation late last night: “On one hand, there's Joe Gaylord, who for two decades has been Gingrich's closest political advisor. He is quoted in the Des Moines Register tonight saying Gingrich will announce the formation of a presidential exploratory committee Thursday in Atlanta … On the other hand, there's Gingrich's own spokesman, who put out a statement tonight saying that Gaylord had made ‘a significantly inaccurate statement’ … [Rick Tyler said:] ‘To be clear, while Speaker Gingrich is in Georgia on Thursday, he will NOT announce the formation of an exploratory committee.’” http://abcn.ws/eC1qjB

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HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW FOR SURE: Gingrich is still traveling to Georgia this Thursday. He plans to meet with Gov. Nathan Deal to discuss states’ rights. He is expected to speak to the press after the meeting with Deal. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Jim Galloway suggests Gingrich could still make news there: “Bottom line, reporters on Thursday will ask Gingrich whether he’s entering an exploratory phase of a presidential campaign. What he answers is his business.” http://bit.ly/f7qjz7

THE WORKING THEORY – One Republican with knowledge of the situation told Score that Gingrich is likely to confirm his “intention to announce,” but not actually unveil an exploratory committee. ABC reports Gingrich may use the term “explore phase” rather than “exploratory committee” – another way of stopping short of a full-scale announcement. The reason: Untangling the web of business and political groups Gingrich is involved in has proven complicated and he’s not in a position just yet to take a more formal step toward running.

NEXT UP – T-PAW? If Gingrich ultimately becomes the first Republican candidate to get in the water, the current expectation is that former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is likely to be the second. Pawlenty said Tuesday that he’ll make his decision “sometime in the next 45 days or less,” according to Minnesota Public Radio, only slightly tweaking his March-or-April timeline. Pawlenty also imagined what his launch might look like in an interview with the Wall Street Journal: “The traditional thing is you get a hotel ballroom, and balloons and give a speech, and you have people waving signs … But the wonders of technology have opened up a lot new possibilities for how you do that. So I wouldn’t assume it will be a podium and lots of balloons.” http://bit.ly/fxvMNQ and http://on.wsj.com/ffky76

As Mike Huckabee explains, Tom Barrett attacks and the 2012 field courts the Club for Growth, here’s POLITICO’s Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

CABLE BAIT – CHRISTIE KEEPS TEASING: In newly published portions of an interview with National Review, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he’s exceedingly confident of his chances as a presidential candidate. “I already know I could win,” Christie told NR. “I see the opportunity both at the primary level and at the general election level. I see the opportunity.” But then there’s the cold water: “I’ve got to believe I’m ready to be president, and I don’t … If I don’t believe it in here [pointing to his heart], I’m not going to be a good candidate on top of everything else.” http://bit.ly/fjJY1H

RICH LOWRY’S TAKE: “On the readiness front, you can’t argue with what he feels, but I think he’s wrong. He’s at least as ready as Bill Clinton in 1991 (indecisive governor of a small state), George W. Bush in 1999 (decisive governor of big state, but in a very weak office), and Barack Obama in 2007 (no executive experience whatsoever).” Lowry’s kicker: “(Consider this another piece in my continuing series taking issue with the reasons non-candidates give for not running for president.)” http://bit.ly/fjJY1H

SPEAKING OF – BEGINNING OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP? President Barack Obama and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will team up to promote education reform during Obama’s visit to Florida this Friday. White House press secretary Jay Carney announced in his briefing: “On Friday the President is traveling to Florida. He will visit Miami Central High School in Florida, with Education Secretary Arne Duncan and former Governor Jeb Bush. Governor Bush will be traveling with the President … Governor Bush is obviously -- former Governor Bush, rather, was committed and remains committed to bipartisan education reform. The President is, as well.” More from the Orlando Sentinel: “While in Miami, Obama will also be attending fundraisers for Florida’s Democratic senator, Bill Nelson, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and a second fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston. Probably a safe bet that Bush won’t be joining him on that leg of his Miami adventure.” http://bit.ly/enNO5E

PLUS – ELSEWHERE IN FLORIDA: The Club for Growth is drawing several 2012-ers there this weekend, reports CNN’s Peter Hamby: “Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour are all scheduled to speak at the Club for Growth's 2011 Winter Economic Conference in Palm Beach … Nineteen members of Congress, including House Speaker John Boehner and South Dakota Sen. John Thune are also slated to attend.” http://bit.ly/f4IzjR

POPPING ON 2012 LIVE –“Barbour bashes Romney health plan” – POLITICO’s Kasie Hunt: “On Capitol Hill Tuesday, [Mississippi Gov. Haley] Barbour said Massachusetts had a state insurance plan it liked — and that his state, Mississippi, had no interest in it. ‘We don't want that. That's not good for us,’ Barbour told the House Energy and Commerce Committee. ‘We don't want community rating. We don't want extremely high mandatory standard benefits packages.’” http://politi.co/hqLC3F

OUT OF AFRICA: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee landed himself in a world of trouble when he told a radio interviewer that President Obama was influenced by his upbringing in … Kenya. A spokesman for Huck PAC called the statement a mistake – Huckabee meant to say “Indonesia.” But the Los Angeles Times notes it was an odd interview in general: “In that same interview, Huckabee said Obama had lived in the African country with his ‘father and grandfather’ — and he didn't appear to attempt to put the issue of Obama's birthplace to rest, saying that ‘the only reason’ he was not confident that there were improprieties about the president's birth certificate is because Hillary Clinton had not been able to uncover anything about it during the 2008 presidential campaign.” http://lat.ms/eOcXYL

T-PAW DEFENDS THE CALENDAR: The former Minnesota governor signaled Tuesday that he doesn’t want any new states crowding the front end of the primary calendar – and that goes for his home state, too. The Union Leader: “Pawlenty, a likely 2012 GOP presidential contender, says his home state's Republican Party should move back the date of its scheduled early presidential caucus to avoid a conflict with the New Hampshire primary and Iowa caucus. ‘His position is that a change should be made to make sure that New Hampshire and Iowa go first,’ Pawlenty spokesman Alex Conant told the Granite Status today … Meanwhile, New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner, who has the sole authority to schedule the date of the New Hampshire primary, isn't alarmed by reports that Minnesota has a non-binding caucus scheduled for Feb. 7, 2012 … Gardner told the Granite Status it's not clear if Minnesota's caucus is a ‘similar election’ to the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary.” http://bit.ly/hv5wcG

LATEST IN WISCONSIN – “Education, local government bear brunt of $1 billion in cuts in Walker’s first budget” – Wisconsin State Journal: “Education and local government bear the brunt of Gov. Scott Walker's first state budget, a reform-minded document that cuts about $1 billion in local aid while also preventing officials from raising taxes to make up the difference … ‘This is a reform budget,’ Walker said. ‘It is about getting Wisconsin working again’ … [T]he governor reduces state aids to schools by $834 million over the next two years, a 7.9 percent reduction … Walker takes the same approach to technical colleges, where he proposes to reduce state aid by $71.6 million.” http://bit.ly/i4dd02

WALKER PRESSURES SENATE DEMS – From the text of his address: “It's true we are reducing aid to local government by just over one and a quarter billion dollars … If the 14 Senate democrats do not come home, their local communities will be forced to manage these reductions in aid without the benefit of the tools provided in the repair bill. On the other hand, if the Senate democrats do come home, local units of government overall will actually see a net increase in revenue.” http://bit.ly/gEgJoM

BARRETT’S BACK: The Milwaukee mayor who was defeated by Walker in last year’s governor’s race spoke out against the Republican governor’s budget proposals. “It will be very difficult for us to maintain the current levels of services we have,” Barrett said. “That means libraries, public health, Department of Public Works. All of this will be under attack.” A PPP survey released Monday showed Barrett would win a rematch if the election were held again today. http://bit.ly/i4PS2B

KAINE WATCH – KNIFE’S EDGE: The Virginia Senate race will start out exactly tied if DNC Chairman Tim Kaine decides to run against former GOP Sen. George Allen, according to Public Policy Polling. Each candidate would begin with 47 percent of the vote. PPP also tested former Reps. Tom Perriello and Rick Boucher on the Democratic side: “Allen leads the other two Democrats we tested against him, a pair of Congressmen defeated in last year's election. It's 48-41 over Tom Perriello and 47-42 over Rick Boucher … The main reason that Perriello and Boucher do worse than Kaine is that there are three times as many undecided Democrats as Republicans with them in the picture … This- perhaps like Colorado in 2010- looks like it will be the quintessential toss up race of the 2012 cycle.” http://bit.ly/f34ys5

THE HARIDOPOLOS DEFENSE – Florida’s state Senate president has an explanation for the $152,000 book deal that resulted in a single printed copy. “This is political, and welcome to politics,” said Mike Haridopolos, the first announced GOP challenger for Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. The St. Petersburg Times: “Asked whether [the book] was worth $152,000, Haridopolos replied: ‘I don't know, how much are you worth?’ But Haridopolos said he hopes the college publishes or releases the 175-page Florida Legislative History and Processes, telling the Times editorial board that he met all his obligations under a contract with the college over four years … [Haridopolos said:] ‘I did not have a professional editor finish it up, but I met the contractual requirements. And this was a story that was on the front page of your newspaper, I believe, three years ago. This is not a new story.’” http://bit.ly/hLFZIL

HOYER DEFENDS WU – SORTA: The House Democratic whip says it’s “premature” to talk about Oregon Rep. David Wu giving up his seat, despite a wave of troubling reports about the congressman’s mental health. “It's my understanding that he has said he is seeking mental health services, and that's the appropriate step for him to take,” Hoyer said. “If he had a broken arm, he'd get it fixed. I believe that mental illness and physical illness both are treatable, and we ought to treat them both as illnesses.” http://wapo.st/hxkzgs

CODA – QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Bristol gives readers an intimate behind-the-scenes look at her life for the first time, from growing up in Alaska to coming of age amid the media and political frenzy surrounding her mother's political rise; from becoming a single mother while still a teenager to coping as her relationship with her baby's father crumbled publicly — not once, but twice.” – Publishing house William Morrow’s promo for the forthcoming memoir by Bristol Palin, featuring a creative use of the phrase “for the first time.” http://bit.ly/hQyeH9

About The Author

Alexander Burns is a senior political reporter for POLITICO. During the 2012 campaign, he co-authored POLITICO’s Burns and Haberman blog, which was widely recognized as one of the authoritative resources on the presidential election. Prior to that, Burns created the daily Morning Score political tip sheet and edited the POLITICO44 page. A graduate of Harvard College, where he edited the Harvard Political Review, Burns has appeared on television and radio as a political analyst and has been a guest speaker at New York University, the University of Kansas’s Dole Institute and the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics, among other schools.